Best Buy protection Plan or Verizon insurance vs Protect CELL???

This is a discussion on Best Buy protection Plan or Verizon insurance vs Protect CELL??? within the HTC Incredible General Discussion forums, part of the HTC Incredible Discussion category; So I purchased my phone a while ago from Best Buy and have sense had if replaced a couple days ago (within the 30 day ...

Best Buy protection Plan or Verizon insurance vs Protect CELL???

So I purchased my phone a while ago from Best Buy and have sense had if replaced a couple days ago (within the 30 day period) because of a problem with my speaker (So I had to waste one of my Steinheil Crystal screens! *sobs*). Anyway, I now have an additional 30 days to decide if I want Best Buy's protection plan. I currently have Verizon's plan (through Asurion). I'm debating on canceling the plan and taking up BB's plan, but I wanted to see if anyone on here had any experience with BB?

The employees at BB make it sound like their plan is definitely the way to go (of course). They all say they have it on their phones and that they wouldn't be without it. What makes this plan sound so appealing is that there is NO deductible and they claim that if the phone cannot be fixed, you will get a BRAND NEW phone while with VZW you will get a refurbished phone that looks like new but has used parts in it. The only downside is that BB doesn't cover lost or stolen phones, but considering I have never lost or gotten a phone stolen in 10 years, I think I'm ok with this...if this is the only downside.

The thing is, after searching the internet, I've read that it take 3 weeks for BB to "repair" the phone before sending it back or giving you a new one and that you are stuck with a phone than can only text at best for 3 weeks. Has anyone had this happen to them? The employee told me that they also replace cosmetic damage like cracked screens as well as water damage. I'm thinking this is not something that can be repaired, so in this case, would they give you a new phone on the spot or would you still have to wait 3 weeks? I'm pretty sure that with vzw insurance, you won't get a loaner phone, but you will get the refurbished phone within 3 days. I also read somewhere that the BB plan only covers "some" water damage?

If you use the plan for 2 years, and only break the phone once, vzw's plan is still more expensive at $8 x 24 months + $100 deductible = $292 vs. $10 = 24 months = $240
and that's only if you break it ONCE. Tack on an additional $100 for any additional breaks with VZW.
(btw website says $89 deductible but VZW employee told me $100. can anyone clarify?)

So with that said, it seems like a no-brainer to go with BB...for $2 more a month, you have no deductible and you get a brand new phone and even though its $2 more a month, if you actually break the phone it ends up being cheaper, especially if you break it more than once. Conversely, if you don't ever break your phone, you are paying an additional $48 for 2 years with BB's policy, but that's an IF you don't ever break your phone in 2 years. BUT if the little details and horror stories are true that I have read about, then the plan obviously isn't as good as it seems...

I also noticed that with VZW insurance it is actually the Asurion insurance (which is $6.99) plus the VZW extended warranty (which is $1.99). I am wondering, does this mean that if the phone stops working for reasons outside of your control, will VZW replace it under this extended warranty without having to pay the deductible? If so, does anyone know if the fact that I purchased the phone through BB changes this? It says on the VZW website that you have to present your proof of purchase when bringing in the phone. I wonder if they would turn their backs on me because they see I bought it through BB and not vzw even though this warranty is an extended manufactures warranty?

And then there's a THIRD insurance that was brought to my attention from an employee at my local VZW store which I found out is not an actual VZW store but is more like a retailer. They offer a plan called Protect CELL. He gave me a brochure that has prices on it but doesn't have many details, and when I go to the website (www.protectcell.com) I still can't seem to find details. This plan, like Asurion's plan, covers water damage, theft, loss, etc. but is MUCH cheaper than both VZW and BB's plan. He said that there is a deductible (I think it's either $80 or $100 for smart phones) and I don't see anything about the deductible on the brochure, but what I do see is that this plan requires a one time fee of $120 for 2 years or $70 for 1 year. This is HALF the price of BB's plan, and if you break the phone *once* it is still less than BB. It says on the brochure that you will get another phone fast through their "working phone guarantee", but it does not say how many days.
I also would like to note that at the bottom of the ProtectCELL brochure, there is a statement that says "this plan is not a service contract, warranty, or plan of insurance." It sounds like insurance to me...what do you think this means? Does anyone have any experience with this company?

whew. that was a lot. sorry about that, but I'm super paranoid about this. I want to get the best plan for the best price as I am a student and just don't have the extra money right now to get a new phone. The only reason I originally chose vzw's plan was because I want to be able to bring my phone into a store rather than have to call someone and make a claim. But now I'm reading that with vzw you still have to call and make a claim and so I'm assuming it is not taken care of in store. And so here I am wondering which plan I should get for my phone. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Verizon does offer a separate plan that I got with my Incredible last week. It's a 1 time payment of $99 for the 2 year agreement and the replacement "maintenance fee" is $75. Just seemed to make more sense to me and cheaper to pay the $99 up front vs $7.99/month for 2 years and a higher deductible. Here's the web site for more info. Wireless Protection Program, Hope this helps.

Your plan sounds much like the protectCELL plan offered by the private Vzw retailer I was talking about. This is definitely not a plan that is actually offered by Verizon Wireless but is a separate plan all together like the protect CELL. Vzw uses Asurion which is actually $6 a month with a $90 deductible. What makes it $7.99 a month is the addition Extended warranty offered by verizon. I just got off the phone with verizon to ask them about this extended warranty. I feel that it is a waste to have it right now since my phone already has a 12 month warranty, but with this additional $2 a month, Verizon is extending the warranty for as long as you pay the $2. I don't like the fact that I am having to pay for this warranty during my actual warranty but it is what it is...and apparently you can remove the $2 so you are just paying for the insurance, but I don't think you can put it back after the 30 days.

The 12 month warranty with the phone covers any manufacture's defects. This means if the phone stops working or the screen goes blank, and there is not water damage or obvious breakage from a drop, then the phone will be replaced under the warranty, free of charge without having to pay the insurance deductible. This is for one year, regardless of the insurance plan you have (or if you have one at all). BUT, if the phone starts to malfunction any time after this year, the phone is out of warranty, and you will have to file a claim through insurance UNLESS you have the $7.99 plan through Verizon. That additional $2 allows you to get the phone replaced WITHOUT a deductible for manufactures defects OUTSIDE of the 12 month warranty. The lady kept stressing that it does happen, especially with the smart phones where they just stop working without any noticeable screen or water damage. What I gather from this is that since the $2 extra a month is pretty much useless for the first year (since you're paying for what you already have) you are actually paying a total of $48 over 2 years (which is how long I usually keep my phone) in order to have this extended warranty. The question is...is this additional $2 a month worth it? I also read on assurion's brochure that if a manufacture's defect occurs outside of warranty, and you dont have the extended warranty, that you can pay $50 and get a refurb, but I remember a vzw employee telling me this has changed. There's a lot of confusion with all this, but even if it is $50, it is $50 each time so it COULD add up if there are any defects with the refurbed phone they give you.

decisions, decisions...

btw, your plan looks like a good deal ,but I'm not sure if you have to do it through a certain store or if you can just get it yourself. I also noticed that if the phone is lost, you have to provide a police report. That would be annoying in my opinion.

whale203

I would not recommend best buy's extended cell phone protection plan!!! My cell phone obtained water damage and the phone was sent out to service over 6 weeks ago. They offered a simple flip phone as a loaner and required a 150. Deposit. I do stop into check the status and have to wait in the geek squad line and boy have i learned alot listening to other people's stories and i'm not alone with this problem. Best buy's hands are tied because they contract out to a third party for the protection plan. I hve not experienced such poor customer service than with best buy's protection plan. I would never purchase best buy's protection plan for anything !!! Overall i like the best buy stores and the employees are very helpful....just stay away from the protection plan. I'm told that they are rebuilding my water damaged phone and are waiting for parts.

The thing with homeowner's insurance is that there is usually something like a $500 deductible that has to be met before anything is replaced. So, that $20 per year premium turns into $520 if you need a replacement.

I'm a licensed, professional insurance agent, and I am imploring you NOT to use your home owners insurance on expendables like fancy cell phones. Even if you were to successfully file a claim and collect indemnity from an insurance company, your rates would increase and stay high for 2-5 years depending on other claims and your particular carrier. You Will pay for a frivolous claim like this, as it is not what a homeowners policy is designed for. Homeowners insurance = fire + theft + liability. not dropping and losing.

First off I'll say that the sales guy told me if the phone breaks I could come in and they would just give me a new one.... that is obviously false. So when I found out that I had to have them send it to texas for repairs I was a little upset. Then they told me they could give me a loaner for a $100 deposit. I declined since I had my old env3 laying around.

So I gave them my phone with it's broken screen, that had been rooted, with s-off, and skyraider's rom loaded on it.

It took them three weeks before they said my phone was junked and I could get a new one. they did make good on that and gave me a brand new phone. However, every store in the area was out of stock at the time because of the "free phone friday" deal they had. two days after it was junked they called me and I got a brand new phone.

So basically as long as you don't mind being without your beloved phone for a few weeks go with best buy. They never even questioned the fact that my original phone had been rooted. I even talked to the geek squad rep who said, "as long as it's not a firmware issue there won't be a problem."

I've got my phone insurance through Verizon via Asurion. The deductible is a fraction of the cost of a new Incredible and they will FedEx a new phone to me overnight after filing the claim online. Monthly insurance fee is $5. I've never used the service yet and I'm hoping it will be as easy as it seems to do the claim and exchange if I ever needed to.

I wouldn't buy a pack of gum from "Best Buy" much less any electronic equipment or any of their half assed insurance plans. Asuurion is the way to go here, as mauiblue said you get the replacement fed-exed overnight. I can vouch for this I've had to use it 4 times over the past 3 years. The only restriction is 2 times per year per account.